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Sunday, May 31

SundayToday was a pretty productive crafty day. I was working on my crocheted valance for the master's bathroom. I realized that it was nicer to crochet outside in daylight and nice weather. I'll have to do that more often. For this latest crochet project, I used the Fan Trellis Stitch, which I got from the Crochet Stitch Bible by Betty Barnden. I highly recommend this book if you're into crochet. The yarn is Red Heart worsted medium in Fall. My valances are not done yet, but I'm hoping to finish them next week.

Also, I was able to finish swapping images from my International Image Swap. Again, thank you all for joining! We have swappers from the US, Germany, Sweden, Philippines, and Korea... woot! At this moment, we are on the right track and they will be mailed back to you by the due date, or probably even earlier.

Finally, I was able to make an anniversary card for DSIL. I like the final product. I hope they both like it too.

Tuesday, May 26

Time does fly! And I know it's been over a week since my last blog entry. I'm sure you don't want to hear my many alibis. But last night, it seemed like lightning struck me and I just wanted to make a mini album for my niece's first year in school. I printed the photos I wanted to use last night, and first thing in the morning, I went straight to my planet.

This is a 6x6 mini album. It's actually from a kit by Colorbok, but the layout and design for each page is all me. Also, I added a lot more embellishments on this album. However, I did use a lot of stickers because I know my niece is going to have this album, and I wanted to make sure the album stays intact.

My planet's been pretty decent the past week, mainly because I haven't been creating. But after this project, it's back to its normal state. But I'm glad that I was able to finish this mini album by 6 pm.

I had a 4-day weekend and today's the last day. I was meaning to make a video tutorial, but to no avail, I wasn't able to do it. But school's almost over, and so does my work. So that means I'll have a lot more time to do more stuff after a couple of weeks. Three months of crafting! Woot! Now who wouldn't like that?

Also, I've started working on a crochet project. It's a pair of curtains for our master bathroom and I hope to finish them soon.

Monday, May 18

More VSN CardsI was able to make a few more cards yesterday. But before I go on, I'd like to share some happy news. Somehow, I won a prize in this episode of VSN (yipee!). That's totally a first for me! I just received a PM from one of the VSN coordinators, and said that I won a Unity stamp (You're A Star). I don't know why I won - but for whatever reason, thank you SplitCoastStampers! Your VSNs and VSBNs inspire me to create more cards and scrapbook pages I wouldn't have thought I could make in a day or two.

Going to back to more VSN cards, I was able to make 5 more cards.

For this card, the challenge was to make two of the same cards. And because of that, I opted to make a simple design. First, I punched the inside flap with Martha Stewart edge punch. I made sure the card front is shorter than the back so the punched edge will show. Then I adhered bg paper by DCWV. I layered with white vellum, tacked on each corner and topped with round glitter stickers. The bg image is from the Unity Confession set, and the sentiment is from Verve Beautiful You, garnished with black Spica glitter pen.

In the next challenge, we were to make a wedding card
with one requirement. And that is to use bright and bold colors. I
chose the scheme orange and green for this one. The wedding image is
inside the card, and I cut a whole in the front to show it using
Nestabilities ovals. All the images used here are from 2 clear stamp
sets that were RAKed to me, and there was no brand indicated (but I love
them!). For final touches, I adhered sequins and ribbon around the
hole. I also touched up the sentiment with Spica clear glitter pen.

Moving
to the next challenge, we were to use only red and black with the
neutral color white. I always like black & white with another color
scheme, so I knew this was going to be fun. I used 4 embossing plates
for this card: Sizzix, Stampin' Up, Cuttlebug and Big Shot. After
embossing, I cut them to size and swiped Tim Holtx distressing ink pad
in Black Soot over them. The images are from Unity Shine On set. I
inverted the lamp and made it look like a chandelier instead, then I
added rhinestones for a final touch.

And
for the last card, we have to use the color combo Banana, Creamy
Caramel and Close to Cocoa. Also, we have to have something musical on
the card. This was quite a challenge, but I enjoyed making this card.
The yellow card was embossed with Cuttlebug. The peanut butter cardstuck
on top and bottom I pierced and embossed using Just Petra
piercing/embossing template, then distressed. The music stamp
(distressed white cardstock in upper left) is by Prima. The embossed
sentiment is from Verve Feeling Groovy set. The flowers are from Prima
too. For finishing touches, I adhered Dew Drops on the upper left
corner.

I wanted to make more cards tonight, but I decided to clean up my planet. I guess 10 cards in a weekend is not that bad, right?

Sunday, May 17

SplitcoastStampers is having their Virtual Stamping Night this weekend. The theme is still "Viva Las VSN Vegas Style", and this time there are prizes in store. It started on Friday and will go on until tomorrow at 10 pm. I've always liked to join SCS's VSNs. I really didn't care so much about the prizes. I just want to make cards. The challenges stir up my creative juices, and learning new techniques is my favorite part. That is a prize in itself.Yesterday, I was able to make 5 cards.

In this card, the challenge was to make a card using a grid technique, and the sponging technique. I used unity stamps, and I added faux stitching on the grid stamp by Northwoods Rubber Stamps. The bg squares are from a scrap of bg paper, punched with 1" CTMH square punch. I sponged red ink on the heart.

For this one, we were to use the sketch provided by the challenge host, making sure that our card is reminiscent of a slot machine. I purposely misalligned the images (Autumn Leaves) for the "slot machine" effect. The bg paper and cardstock are DCWV. I also used Fiskars and Martha Stewart edge punches. I adhered star sequins and weaved gold ribbon for the final touches.

In the next challenge, we were to make a monochromatic green card. That was pretty hard. My mind was constantly thinking about St. Patrick's Day, but I made sure I steered clear from that. The embossed sentiment is from SU Best Yet, punched with SU Curly Label Punch. The green bg paper is stamped with SU Water Color Garden and Water Color Minis, using Versamark Dazzle. I used Marianne Designs template for the piercing design. I inked the edges of each layer with Tim Holtz distress ink in Shabby Shutters.

I love the next challenge! We had to glitter an entire panel or image. I've never done that before and it made me really excited. Also, it's my first time to use the Anya stamp by The Greeting Farm. With this card, I started from the image. After stamping, I colored with Copics then fed through my Big Shot to cut the oval shape (Nestabilities). Then I swiped an embossing inkpad all over it, then sprinkled with clear glittered embossing powder and heat set. That was really fun! That's the most embossing powder I've ever used at one time. LOL! From that point, I assembled my card. The sentiment is from SU Sweet Little Sentiments. For the final touches, I added flower sequins and topped it with Dew Drops in Golden Berry.

For last night's last card, the challenge was to use this cake for inspiration. Also, we had to have a knot on our cards. I used the cake template from Lasting Impressions, which I embossed and fed through the Big Shot Machine. For the trim, I adhered white mini flower sequins. The sentiment is from a clear stamp set RAKed to me, but I don't know the brand (sorry!). I inked the edges of each layer with gold ink. I also used Nestabilities Curved Rectangles.

Please join in the fun and make this a good reason to create some cards. You can see all the challenges here.

Tuesday, May 12

My Latest Pullip DollI was just browsing about Pullip dolls when I chanced upon Haute in New York being sold in Valley Of The Dolls. It's a limited edition of 500. And I thought that would be a good reason for me to get another Pullip doll. Haute is my first limited edition Pullip and I'm glad that I was able to get one.

I love the fact that there are a bunch of clothes in this set that you can mix and match. It's got two pairs of shoes, two bags and pretty accessories. The one I got has a little stain on the right hand, but that doesn't bother me. Sometimes, the imperfections make something extra special. I'll consider it her tattoo.Also, the other pair of shoes is too big. But oh well... with the physical characteristics of Pullip dolls, it is hard to find the best girly shoes for them.To see my latest doll, please click here.

Sunday, May 10

Happy Mother's Day!I was actually thinking to myself if I can be considered a mother because we have our pet dog Chichay. I love her so dearly, and by taking care of her, I can somehow tell what kind of a mother I could be when we actually do have kids.

And then, this week, I received my first mother's day card. It's a handmade card from Claire. It did made me realize, that yes, I am Chichay's one and only mother. Thank you Claire for a very wonderful card. Sorry I wasn't able to tell you about this right away. The envelope has been sitting on the counter, and I thought it was an already opened envelope. Your card made my day... Hugs!

Going back to this special event, I was only able to make one card. This is my first time to use this kind of stitching using Just Petra stitching and embossing stencil. I was able to buy this through the kindness of Jerosha (thanks again, girl!). You can see my Mother's Day card here.Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers of all kinds! ;)

Friday, May 8

FridayThis has been a very busy week - at work, at home and in my planet. DH and I have been doing some work outside because of Spring. And since Monday after work, I have been riding the bicycle while Chichay runs next to me, 2 miles round trip. And for some good news, I'm officially part of the Hybrid Team of The Daily Scrapper (woot!)

Anyway, I want to talk more about the slider card I did the other day for my co-worker. She asked me to make a card for her friend's baby shower, who is having twins (boy and girl). I followed the instructions from the first slider card I made in Stampin' Up's make and take project during a scrapbook show a few weeks ago. I just made it bigger, and added some changes. I'm planning to do this for my next video tutorial. Hopefully this weekend.

Wednesday, May 6

we'll look forward to seeing i...Happy Teachers Day!Teachers' Day is one of the events that I've always liked during my school days. Back in the Philippines, the students put up a show for the teachers, give flowers and presents, to show appreciation to their dear teachers. The students want to make this day really special. We call our teachers our second parents, because half of our day is spent with them.

Here in the US, they call it Teachers Appreciation Day. This will be a first for me and I'll be doing a lot of observing, and most probably a lot of comparing.

The office staff is hosting a luncheon for the teachers. I was tasked to make the "invitations" and goodie bags for the teachers. Because there are 19 of them, I had to make easy and simple projects. To be honest, I was thinking of my teachers from my 15 years of education while creating these. They all have a special place in my heart, and they have taught me a lot - not just intellectually, but in a lot other aspects. I wonder where they all are, what they are doing. Maybe some of them have passed on. I want them to know that they are in my thoughts at this very moment.

Spring BoardOne of the things I like about my job is doing the bulletin boards. Right now, I'm in charge of 3, and sometimes 4, bulletin boards. To me, it's like scrapbooking on a very large scale, without the pictures. And thanks to this task, I get to use my Cricut machine more. Talk about doing your hobby at work, and getting paid for it.

Anyway, here's my Spring Board for March and April. You can see the 3D flowers and "Think Spring" title I made in March. In April, I added the grass and Easter Eggs in the bottom, but I took them off after Easter and realized that I forgot to take a photo. The next theme for my bulletin board will be "graduation."Please check out my other bulletin board projects here.

Saturday, May 2

National Scrapbooking DayI would not let this day pass without making a scrapbook page. I just can't.

But the difficult part, as usual, was the subject of my page. To be honest, I wasn't in the mood to make a sweetie cutie page. I wanted to do something uncommon. Then I looked down, and saw my feet.

They recently had some pampering - spa, pedicure, the works! And it's been a long while since the last one. In other words, I am really happy. And so are my feet. They've been wearing this elevated brown flip-flops, and they feel gorgeous!

So there goes my page for National Scrapbooking Day. It's also the May page for my 2009 Calendar.

You might want to check this out:

Hello and welcome!

I have always loved crafting since I was little. But I officially
started as a scrapbooker in 2006, the same year I started blogging.
Along the way, I became a stamper, card maker and paper crafter as well.